Fixing the Federal EV Tax Credit Flaws: Redesigning the Vehicle Credit Formula

The federal EV tax credit has a number of flaws, but one of the biggest is the poorly-designed formula that determines the amount of the tax credit available for each BEV and PHEV sold in the US. The formula, which is based on the size of an EV’s battery pack, rewards OEMs (and their buying consumers) for using larger batteries with no consideration to efficiency (EPA range/kWh) and price.
Proposed Federal EV Tax Credit Reform: Will It Move the Sales Needle?

Proposed reform to the Federal EV tax credit extends to automakers who already reached the current phaseout level of 200,000 EVs sold with another 400,000 vehicles, but with a reduction to $7,000 from the current maximum $7,500 credit.
Overview of Biden Administration Plans to Help Increase EV Adoption in the US

Here are the electric vehicle-related programs that we can expect the Biden administration to pursue.
13 EVs No Longer Eligible for California’s EV Rebate: Changes Effective December 3

California’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Project will see two key changes that could create a small shift in sales across various EV models. When the new vehicle eligibility rules take place beginning on December 3, 2019, 14 currently available electric vehicles will no longer be eligible for the rebates from the state of California.
The Federal EV Tax Credit Needs To Be Torn Up (Part 1): What Are The Right Goals?

The Federal EV tax credit isn’t working: sales of EVs in the US are slowing, are concentrated in one state (California) and brand (Tesla). It is time to tear up and rethink, not tweak the current tax credit.
15 Shifts: How The Transition to Electric Vehicles Will Transform Industries, Jobs and the Environment

The transition to electric vehicles is poised to reshape many industries, jobs, economies and the environment. Most of these shifts will be positive in the long run, but some will create disruption and pain during the transition off of fossil fuels.
OMG! Tesla is 6,000 Unit Sales From the Magic 200,000 Federal Tax Credit Milestone

As the countdown to 200,000 now begins in earnest, we can almost – but not quite – state with certainty when the phase out will begin of the Federal EV tax credit for both Tesla and GM buyers. First, let’s see where we think Tesla sits after the month of May: My analysis using estimated […]
Huge Flaws in Federal EV Tax Credit Will Hurt US Automakers Beginning in 2020

The survival of the Federal electric vehicle (EV) tax credit is a good thing for the auto industry and consumers, but several flaws in its design will give EV laggard automakers a significant competitive advantage beginning around 2020. As background, the Federal EV tax credit phases out over 5 quarters beginning the quarter following the […]
Electric Vehicle Predictions for 2018: EV Charging

It is that time of year for the cavalcade of lists of predictions to start appearing in the media and blogs. So with that in mind I will do my best Carnac the Magnificent impression and share my electric vehicle predictions for 2018. This predictions post will focus on developments in EV charging technology and […]
Federal EV Tax Credit: The Future is Perhaps Even More Unclear After Passage of the Senate Tax Bill

Up until this morning, there was still strong hope that Congress would not eliminate the Federal electric vehicle tax credit, but a late amendment puts the credit in significant doubt. Or did it? When I woke up this morning I found the text of the Senate bill H.R.1 – Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that […]